[bigfatpaulie]

Thanks for the great review @ufospls2 ! I know this has been a long and arduous path so I'm thrilled that you've finally found where you wanted to go!

I also would never put someone down because they don't have a top cost DAC. Until you get to this level, in my experience, the DAC is the least critical piece of gear so I applaud him for being pragmatic and waiting until the rest was right before starting the hardest hunt of them all.

On a personal aside, I often listen to poorly recorded MP3's: sometime that's all I can get and this hobby, to me, is more about the music than the gear... But to each their own.

Congrats again @ufospls2 !!!

 

[ufospls2]

CD's aren't much better

The Phi will invariably flush out limitations of the source so it's not surprising upgrading DAC and music rez would be a most logical next step.

@ufospls2 - Spot on comparison of original and Phi, and from memory to boot.

Thanks for taking the time to read the mini review

Thanks for the great review @ufospls2 ! I know this has been a long and arduous path so I'm thrilled that you've finally found where you wanted to go!

I also would never put someone down because they don't have a top cost DAC. Until you get to this level, in my experience, the DAC is the least critical piece of gear so I applaud him for being pragmatic and waiting until the rest was right before starting the hardest hunt of them all.

On a personal aside, I often listen to poorly recorded MP3's: sometime that's all I can get and this hobby, to me, is more about the music than the gear... But to each their own.

Congrats again @ufospls2 !!!

@bigfatpaulie Thank you for taking the time to read it. I agree 100% that it is more about the music than the gear. The gear is a fun aspect for sure, but the music is the most important part, and always has been. From my JVC discman and Phillips cassette player with 5 dollar ear buds, to the Abyss Phi, it has always been the music that makes me happiest.

And you are right about the DAC hunt being hard!!! I'm happy to have my headphones and amp sorted, and will continue to enjoy the process of finding the right DAC for my ears. Just taking my time, and the right thing will come along at the right time

 

[Beolab]

Abyss / JPS Labs / Woo Audio











http://hifiknights.com/reviews/miscleanous/high-end-munich-2017/

 

[Joe Skubinski]

 

[MaggotBrain]

I would agree about waiting for the right DAC. I should note that I just finally scratched the itch and got a Chord DAVE, having unloaded my electrostatic gear collecting dust because the Abyss corralled all of my attenton. Better someone else enjoy the Stax for what it is, but with all the rock/pop/hip-hop I listen to, it was kind of like putting caviar on a corn dog. With the Abyss, it doesn't matter if you're into Van Morrison or Van Halen - It paints everything like a Dutch master.

I do want to give a little love the Master 9/Dave combo - not seen it mentioned before on this thread but it's the perfect marriage of precision and power. The first track I tested was Back in Black by AC/DC - you could perfectly hear the punch of the drums, crunching guitars and the gravel in the vocals - suffice to say, it hits as hard as AC/DC which is saying a lot. I tested a lot of tracks on the Tidal master MQA from the Mac Pro and was really impressed by the revelation on detail I could hear in a lot of familiar artists: Eagles, Bowie, Led Zepplin are well represented as well as contemporary artists like Gorillaz, Black Keys and twenty one pilots. It's already included in the Tidal HiFi subscription, and now they have a bunch of playlists to cherry pick.

Fifteen more weeks for the Phi upgrade - it's gonna be a long summer!

 

[DMck2000]

I would agree about waiting for the right DAC. I should note that I just finally scratched the itch and got a Chord DAVE, having unloaded my electrostatic gear collecting dust because the Abyss corralled all of my attenton. Better someone else enjoy the Stax for what it is, but with all the rock/pop/hip-hop I listen to, it was kind of like putting caviar on a corn dog. With the Abyss, it doesn't matter if you're into Van Morrison or Van Halen - It paints everything like a Dutch master.

I do want to give a little love the Master 9/Dave combo - not seen it mentioned before on this thread but it's the perfect marriage of precision and power. The first track I tested was Back in Black by AC/DC - you could perfectly hear the punch of the drums, crunching guitars and the gravel in the vocals - suffice to say, it hits as hard as AC/DC which is saying a lot. I tested a lot of tracks on the Tidal master MQA from the Mac Pro and was really impressed by the revelation on detail I could hear in a lot of familiar artists: Eagles, Bowie, Led Zepplin are well represented as well as contemporary artists like Gorillaz, Black Keys and twenty one pilots. It's already included in the Tidal HiFi subscription, and now they have a bunch of playlists to cherry pick.

Fifteen more weeks for the Phi upgrade - it's gonna be a long summer!

I would die just to hear Bowie with these just one time! Also would love to hear the bass from Gorillaz tracks on these! Would probably blow me away *literally

 

[ufospls2]

Hey Guys,

I finally decided on a DAC and took the plunge. I ended up getting a decent used deal on an Aqua Acoustic La Voce S2. So far, it sounds great! It has taken over a year of searching and testing various source gear to get to this point, but I'm super happy with where I am at. There are little tweaks here and there I would like to do still, but the main components are set, for now at least. The Phi's are definitely the main part of this set up, I'm still loving them.

Note: The abyss are on the stand for the photo, I normally don't store them like that to save the life of the elastics.

 

[BoyNamedSue]

Tried mulder01's cable tie mod for the headband and it made a huge improvement in comfort. Getting the height just right improved the sound quality. I got ufospls2's old pair, and he said mine has new drivers on them, so hoping the sound improves further with some burn in. I'm curious how many users bent the frame to get it wide enough for a good fit. I have mine stretched widest and the pads still getting a tight seal.

 

[ufospls2]

Tried mulder01's cable tie mod for the headband and it made a huge improvement in comfort. Getting the height just right improved the sound quality. I got ufospls2's old pair, and he said mine has new drivers on them, so hoping the sound improves further with some burn in. I'm curious how many users bent the frame to get it wide enough for a good fit. I have mine stretched widest and the pads still getting a tight seal.

Hey Mate,

Good to see you on the Abyss thread. Lots of good info here, as I'm sure you have found out. If you have a tight seal with the widest setting, you might want to try a bit of bending out. The seal should be fairly loose, not squeezing your ears too hard, at least thats what I have found works for the best sound quality (to my ears.) Its also comfier for what it is worth You can always bend it back to the way it was if you find it too loose, or if the sound quality isn't as good.

 

[BoyNamedSue]

Thanks for the reply. Listening to them right now and my jaw is dropping how good they sound. I think I'm finally getting a good fit after a couple weeks of adjustments. To me, Mulder01's headband mod is a must for comfort and proper sound staging. Before the headband mod, the abyss would sink down, which seemed to collapse the height of the soundstage. With the height positioned just right, I am getting the largest sound stage I've ever heard on a headphone and imaging is really coherent and stable. I am also really impressed by the bass: deep, impactful, and sounds like the natural instrument. The Abyss are deceptively resolving (can easily tell DAC differences), although I wish they were a bit more transparent. Images seem a little blurry too.

So far, I like them better on my Audio-GD Master 8 than the Woo Audio WA5. They sound really good with the Master 7.

 

[mulder01]

I had to widen my frame further than the normal widest setting too - the thing is, if you bend the vertical arms outward, you end up with a big gap at the bottom of the earpads because they form sort of like an upside down V shape, whereas I needed them V shaped still (bent inward), but wider apart overall. I unscrewed the drivers and took the frame down into the shed for a bit of careful further bending which worked quite well for the width adjustment. (Figured if I broke it I could just order a new one - Joe is pretty good in that regard). Eventually I made my own headband but it looks a bit DIY and can't be adjusted for other people.

I was on holidays recently in Canada and did a bunch of those adventure sport type things and in every case I needed the biggest helmet they had and adjusted further as big as possible and they were never loose... So Sue, it's nice to know I'm not the only one.

 

[BoyNamedSue]

I'm definitely in the big head club . It's funny how they look so wide when sitting on headphone stand but still not wide enough.

Yeah, I was running into same problem of the upside down V. I'm trying to get them 90 degrees so they hang parallel to my ears. I'm inching closer to ideal fit with each bend. They sound so good right now so may leave it alone for now. The abyss behaves likes speakers more than any other headphones, the positioning and "sweet spot" seem to make a big difference. Its cool that there is even a pivot to adjust the toe in.

 

[Thaudiophile]

How does abyss 1266 phi compare to hifiman susvara?

 

[Beolab]

I think most of us are waiting for the Phi upgrade, and can not comment on that question right now.

I have personally listen to HE 1K V2 and the Phi is clearly the better one overall, then it is always down to tastes, but i have not find a better sounding headphone than Abyss / Phi with its great depth and imaging and transparency, it relay moves you like a Ultra High End speaker whereas the V2 got a great soundstage because of the huge driver, and do things pretty well, but not as well as the Phi is my conclution.

 

[Thaudiophile]

I think most of us are waiting for the Phi upgrade, and can not comment on that question right now.

I have personally listen to HE 1K V2 and the Phi is clearly the better one overall, then it is always down to tastes, but i have not find a better sounding headphone than Abyss / Phi with its great depth and imaging and transparency, it relay moves you like a Ultra High End speaker whereas the V2 got a great soundstage because of the huge driver, and do things pretty well, but not as well as the Phi is my conclution.

Now that woo audio wa33 is out, what do you think is the better amp Eddie current studio or wa33?Sorry I have asked this question on wa33 thread but I got no reply.